Delivery of AIDAdiva in 2007 Papenburg, 03.03.2006 - This Friday, the keel-laying ceremony for the first of three club ships of AIDA Cruises (Rostock) took place in Papenburg. The winner of the AIDA name contest, Sabine Mattenheimer from Bavaria, who works for a travel agency, laid the traditional lucky penny under the first of a total of 55 blocks. The first steel block for the ship having the yard number S. 659 weighs approx. 450 t, is 32.2 m wide, 6.9 m high and 16 m long. Delivery of the new club ship for AIDA is scheduled for the spring of 2007. On the occasion of this event, which was attended by many guests, AIDA Cruises also disclosed the name of this first ship. "We are pleased that we, as a German shipyard, can implement this newbuilding project for a German cruise operator and German passengers," said Bernard Meyer, Meyer Werft's CEO and managing partner. AIDAdiva will be the name of the new ship in the fleet. She will be the first ship in a series of three that will be built for the most successful cruise operator in Germany. The ships will have a length overall of 252 m, a breadth of 32.2 m, and a tonnage of 68,500gt. 2,030 passengers can be accommodated in 1,015 cabins. The other two newbuildings will follow in the spring of 2008 and spring of 2009. Four large diesel engines made by MaK will generate a total output of approx. 50,000 hp. The service speed of the ship will be almost 22 knots.

New ship for Norwegian shipping company Papenburg, 27.02.2006 - Inge Steensland and Magne Morken from the Norwegian shipping company Solvang ASA, pushed the button of the computer-controlled plasma torch for the construction of the first out of a series of four gas tankers. This machine cuts the first steel plate and hallmarked the start of construction of the new ship. The LEG/LPG tankers will have a length overall of 154.9 m, a breadth of 22.70 m and a cargo capacity of 17,000 m3. They will be able to operate at a speed of 17 knots. Fully loaded with ethylene cooled down to minus 104°C, the ships will have a draught of 8.10 m. In addition to ethylene, the tankers will also be able to carry vinyl chloride monomer, ammonia and propylene oxide, cooled down to minus 48° C. Deliveries of these special vessels, yard numbers S. 653, S. 654, S. 681 and S. 682, are scheduled for the 3rd and 4th quarter of 2007 and the3rd and 4th quarter of 2008. Especially regarding the outfitting of the vessel the sister company of MEYER WERFT, NEPTUN Stahlbau in Rostock, will be involved. Hence these four newbuildings are a continuation of the two 12,500 m3 sized gas tankers, Clipper Harald and Clipper Viking, built for Solvang in 1998/1999 by MEYER WERFT.

Second post-PanMax ship from Papenburg Papenburg, 17.02.2006 - The American cruise operator Celebrity Cruises, an affiliated company of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., has ordered another large cruise vessel from MEYER WERFT in Papenburg. The contract for the construction of a second ship follows an order for the first Challenger class ship which was placed as late as last summer. The new ship for Celebrity Cruises will be 315 m long and 36,8 m wide. 2,850 passengers will be accommodated in 1,425 cabins. The vessel continues Celebrity's tradition of incorporating in their ships features typically associated with luxury cruising. For example, more than 90 percent of the ship's stateroom will be outside cabins, and more than 90 percent of those rooms will have balconies. Standard staterooms onboard the new ships will average 215 square feet, much larger than those typically found in the cruise industry. The ships will be equipped with diesel engines and Pod propulsion systems. The overall engine output will be 63,000 kW (86,000 hp). The ship will have a size of 118,000 gt, which means that the Papenburg shipyard and Celebrity Cruises will again pass the "magic" limit of 100,000 gt. The ships are so-called "post-PanMax" ships, which means that they can no longer pass the locks of the Panama Canal due to their length and width. The first Challenger class ship is expected to be delivered in the autumn of 2008 while the second one is to be completed in the summer of 2009. "Together with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. we have developed a truly innovative ship of this size, and we really appreciate that we can build these ships for the Celebrity Cruises brand," says Bernard Meyer, CEO and managing partner of the shipyard. MEYER WERFT already built five cruise ships for Celebrity Cruises in the early and mid 90s. Four ships of the Radiance-class for Royal Caribbean were built in the last years in Papenburg as well.

New ship sees the light of day
Papenburg, 14 February 2006 - On Sunday, 19th February, the 93,500-gt cruise liner Pride of Hawaii will float out of MEYER WERFT's roofed-over building dock upon completion of ample tests and engine trials. Undocking of the ship built for the American cruise operator Norwegian Cruise line (NCL) will begin around 7.00 hrs a.m. Given favourable weather conditions, the procedure will end by 9.00 hrs a.m. The undocking schedule may change due to weather conditions! The ship will be berthed at the outfitting pier where the remaining work will be completed. The river Ems passage to the Dutch sea trials port in Eemshaven will take place on 11th March 2006. The new luxury liner has a length overall of 294.13 m. It is 32.2 m wide and can operate at a speed faster than 24 knots. More than 2,500 passengers can be accommodated in 1,233 cabins and will be taken care of by a crew of approx. 1,100.

Norwegian Owner orders further LPG/LEG-Tankers

Papenburg, 12.12.2005 - The Norwegian shipping company Solvang ASA together with a group of investors have placed an new order with MEYER WERFT in Papenburg for construction and delivery of two LEG/LPG tankers.

The gas tankers will have a length overall of 154.9 m, a breadth of 22.70 m and a cargo capacity of 17,000 m3. They will be able to operate at a speed of 17 knots. Fully loaded with ethylene cooled down to minus 104°C, the ships will have a draught of 8.10 m. In addition to ethylene, the tankers will also be able to carry vinyl chloride monomer, ammonia and propylene oxide, cooled down to minus 48° C.

Delivery of the two special ships, yard numbers S. 681 and S. 682, is scheduled for the 2nd or 4th quarter of 2008. Regarding the outfitting of the vessel the sister company of MEYER WERFT, NEPTUN Stahlbau in Rostock, will be involved.

Hence these four newbuildings are a continuation of the two 12,500 m3 sized gas tankers, Clipper Harald and Clipper Viking, built for Solvang in 1998/1999.

The total number of gas tankers built by MEYER WERFT will be 52, these two newbuildings included. The yard has a long and outstanding tradition in tank construction. 280 tanks of most various materials and special alloys were built in Papenburg. 74 tanks were delivered to other shipyards.

Papenburg, 1st December 2005 - In a works meeting which took place today the senior management and the works council of MEYER WERFT announced that thanks to the improved order book situation the shipyard will create 100 new jobs. The new employees are supposed to be hired by the spring of 2006.